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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26331688">Alex's Big Secret</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805'>awgaskarth0805</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>All Time Low (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 13:20:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26331688</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack notices some changes in Alex's behavior, and decides to figure out what is going on.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Alex's Big Secret</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a request!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Do the first fifteen exercises at the end of the chapter, I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Alex’s math teacher said, as the bell ending the school day rang. <br/>Everyone quickly packed up their things to leave, then practically ran out of the classroom. Meanwhile, Alex took his time putting away his books, and grabbing his headphones. He put on his favorite playlist as he cautiously walked out of the classroom, hoping to not run into his friends. <br/>Normally, he met up with Rian, Jack, and Zack by the doors near Rian’s locker so they could all walk out to their cars together, but Alex hadn’t done this in about three weeks now. His friends had asked him why he’d been skipping out and practically avoiding them, but he always ignored it, not wanting to talk about anything. When he got to their usual meeting spot, he saw his friends, and they definitely saw him, too, but he just started walking faster, not wanting to answer the questions he knew they had, at least not yet. <br/>As he continued out to the parking lot, his friends all exchanged looks of confusion.<br/>“Alex has been acting so weird lately,” Zack pointed out.<br/>“He really has been, every time I see him, he looks super anxious and out of it,” Jack added.<br/>“Has he talked to you two about anything at all? I can’t remember the last time I had a real conversation with him, since he keeps blowing me off,” Rian continued, putting a few books from his backpack into his locker.<br/>“Maybe when we have band practice on Saturday, we should try to talk to him about this. I know it’s only Wednesday, but I don’t want to stress him out or interrogate him in the middle of the week, he’s already got school work to deal with,” Jack explained, as the three of them started to walk out to the parking lot.<br/>“That’s a good idea. I hope he’s okay,” Zack replied.<br/>“I hope so, too. Well, I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Jack said once they finally reached their cars. <br/>After exchanging goodbyes, they all went their separate ways, still feeling concerned for their friend.<br/>--------------<br/>“Guys, I think I’m going to go over to Alex’s. He’s not been at school since Wednesday, and he’s avoided all of my texts and calls asking if he’s okay. I’m starting to get really worried about him,” Jack said, as he walked out to the parking lot with Rian and Zack.<br/>“That’s a good idea, all of this is really unlike him. Do you think we should all go?” Zack asked back.<br/>“I think maybe just Jack should go, it may be a bit much on him if we all show up and start asking questions,” Rian pointed out.<br/>“That’s a good point, Rian. Definitely tell us what’s up with him, as long as he’s cool with that,” Zack requested.<br/>“I will, don’t worry. I guess I’ll see you guys at practice tomorrow,” Jack said as they finally got to their cars. <br/>Once they said their goodbyes, they got in their cars to leave for the weekend. Jack pulled out of the parking lot and started towards Alex’s house. He considered sending Alex a text, letting him know he was on his way over, but he knew Alex would either ignore it, or tell him not to come, so he decided against it. Jack was nervous for this, he had absolutely no idea what could be going on with his friend, and he figured that it had to be something pretty bad for Alex to isolate so much. <br/>Eventually, he finally got to Alex’s house, so he grabbed the copy of the Gaskarth’s housekey that Alex had given him a couple years back, not wanting to knock on the door and hope that Alex would answer it. As he walked up to the door, Jack noticed that Alex’s parents’ cars weren’t in the driveway, which he considered to be a good thing, since it meant they wouldn’t get interrupted. <br/>Once he let himself in, Jack made his way upstairs and over to Alex’s bedroom, and knocked on the door.<br/>“Come in,” he heard Alex say, his voice muffled by the door. Jack took a deep breath as he slowly opened the door and was very surprised by what he saw. <br/>Alex’s room looked like a tornado had gone through it; the floor was covered in clothes, homework, and everything else in between. His dressers and desk were covered in plates and cups, and a few stray books. Alex was under the covers, laying in bed, which had a few notebooks at the foot. He was watching his TV with tired looking eyes, with very prominent bags underneath them.<br/>“Holy shit, it looks insane in here,” Jack stated, making his way over to Alex’s desk, and taking a seat. Alex quickly turned the TV off and sat up.<br/>“Jack, what the fuck are you doing here? Do my parents know you’re here?” Alex frantically asked.<br/>“Well, no, they’re not here, but I normally come over so much, so I don’t think it would be a big deal. I think a better question would be why are you here? You didn’t come to school today or yesterday,”<br/>“Oh, I wasn’t, um, I wasn’t feeling well,”<br/>“I’d believe that if you didn’t totally ignore me, Rian and Zack at school for the past few weeks now. Oh, and also every text and call I sent you, too,”<br/>“Look, I’m sorry about that, but can we just not talk about this right now?”<br/>“No, we can’t do that, Alex. Your behavior over the last few weeks has been really weird and unlike you, and as your best friend, it concerns me. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, and it’s hard to believe that you’re really okay when all you’ve done is shut me out,” <br/>There was a brief silence, neither one of them really knowing what to say.<br/>“I’m sorry I freaked you out so much, as well as Rian and Zack, that wasn’t my intention, I promise. I’ll be okay, but I really don’t want to talk about this. I haven’t talked about it with anyone, and I don’t really want to start now,” Alex looked down, too nervous to look at Jack.<br/>“Alex, I can’t take that answer, and leave it at that. You’re totally withdrawn, you’ve skipped school, your normally insanely clean room looks awful- no offense. I know shit can be hard to talk about sometimes, but if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m going to have to tell my parents or some adult at school that I’m worried about you,” Jack bluntly stated, making Alex’s eyes widen.<br/>“You wouldn’t really do that, would you?” Alex asked, his voice trembling.<br/>“I don’t want to, like, blackmail or betray you, but this is bigger than that. Alex, you’re my best friend, I care about you a lot. You can trust me; will you please tell me what’s been going on? I won’t tell Rian or Zack what it is, if that would make you more comfortable,” Jack tried, sounding genuinely concerned.<br/>“Okay, I’ll tell you, but only because I don’t want you to keep being so anxious over me. Long story short, I figured out something kind of important a few weeks ago, and I’ve been terrified to talk about it with anyone,” Alex started, feeling his heartbeat miles a minute in his chest.<br/>“What is it? You know I’m not going to judge you or make fun of you, no matter what it is,”<br/>“Jack, I think I’m bi,” <br/>Jack stayed silent for a minute, taking in what Alex had just told him. He quickly noticed that Alex’s face had gotten pale, and that he looked absolutely terrified, so he thought of something to say.<br/>“Well, that’s a hell of a lot better than what I expected you to say. Why were you so nervous to tell me about this?”<br/>“I don’t know, I guess I shouldn’t have been. People can be judgmental, and it’s not necessarily that I thought you’d be like that, I just didn’t know how you’d react. I’m still kind of coming to terms with it, so the thought of actually talking to someone about it seemed impossible,”<br/>“I understand, I’d probably be just as scared, too. Why did you totally avoid me and the guys, though? We’re your best friends, we wouldn’t judge you for something like this. Besides, if you’d just acted normal over the last three weeks, we never would’ve had any idea,” Jack pointed out, moving to sit with Alex on his bed.<br/>“Well, that’s just it, none of this has really been normal for me. I tried to deny this, but I eventually realized that I was being ridiculous and lying to myself, which freaked me out. I thought you guys would judge me, and I couldn’t handle that, I’ve been super anxious, and isolating myself out of fear made me feel really depressed, which is why my room looks terrible. I’m sorry for keeping this from you, but I was just scared, and thinking of all of the worst things that could’ve happened if I’d told you,” Alex explained, his voice cracking as tears stung his eyes.<br/>“I’m sorry for basically forcing you to tell me this, I know that’s not really an ideal way to come out to someone. I’m really glad you told me, though. Alex, you’re my best friend, no matter what. You can like whoever you want, that won’t affect our friendship or change anything. I just want you to be happy with yourself and your life. Stuff like this must be hard to deal with, so I’m proud of you for figuring it out, and for telling me. I’m always going to be by your side man, I promise,” Jack sincerely replied.<br/>“Thank you so much, Jack, you’re the best. I’m glad you’re the first person I told this to,” Alex wiped away some tears as a small smile appeared on his face.<br/>“Me too, man. I’m just glad you’re okay, well, mostly. I was really worried about you,”<br/>“I’m sorry about that, thank you for caring about me so much,”<br/>“Of course, man,” <br/>The two of them shared a hug, which they both really needed.<br/>“Shit, my room really does look bad. I was so in my own head, that I didn’t realize it had gotten this chaotic,” Alex said, sounding a bit embarrassed.<br/>“Well, I don’t have any plans today, why don’t I help you clean it? We can put on some music, and make it fun,” Jack suggested.<br/>“Let’s do it!”<br/>They both got up, and Alex put a CD they both loved into his stereo as they started to pick stuff up off of the floor, relieved that everything was okay again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys, this is a request for someone on my Tumblr! I hope you guys liked it, I'm always a bit nervous to write a fic where someone comes out, just since I can't relate to it, and want to depict it correctly! Regardless, I enjoyed writing it, finally writing a request after all of this time was awesome! I have one more request that I'm working on, but then I'll be out again, so any ideas you guys have, please send them my way! I love writing your all's ideas, and would love more! Thank you for reading, it really means the world. Lots of love, Liv.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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